Sir, – Like the rest of the liberal-left media, The Irish Times demonises Italy's Matteo Salvini as "far-right" ("The far-right on the rise", Editorial, August 19th).
Mr Salvini started out as a leftist but now opposes what he sees (correctly in my view) as the “business of illegal immigration”. He is opposed to both the euro and the creation of an EU super-state, is against Turkish membership of the EU, supports Israel, condemns Hizbullah and its paymaster Iran, wants good relations with Russia, is in favour of protectionism and is opposed to globalisation. He has condemned France for “stealing wealth from its former African colonies”.
Ironically, most, if not all, of these views and policies were once supported by the left until it abandoned the traditional working-class voter in favour of identity politics. – Yours, etc,
KARL MARTIN,
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Bayside,
Dublin 13.